Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
It's the last day of July... and so probably the busiest month of the year with regards to art shows & events starts up in a few hours... but luckily our friend Katie is coming the first two weeks to help out & sell her art as well!!! So basically if I go quiet for a few weeks, don't worry... you can just find us at Eccles Art Center's Summer on August 2nd, then Ogden's Farmers Market on August 3rd... as well as Ogden Pride Festival later on August 3rd... and all day on August 4th... followed by the Weber County Fair from August 7th to 10th from 11 AM to 11 PM each day... and again at Eccles Art Center on August 8th... and the Farmers Market on August 10th... and then one last time at Craft Lake City's DIY Festival at the Utah State Fairgrounds on August 11th... yup, 11 shows in ten days... because we're bad asses!!! Here are some movies we watched to get inspired by... July 25 – Ricky Stanicky (2024) Three childhood friends have blamed their hijinx for decades on a kid named Ricky Stanicky… but he’s made up. Now they’re “adults” and things are getting real… and after decades of blaming their lies & deceit on Ricky Stanicky, now their loved ones are calling them on their BS and want to meet this legendary Ricky… so they hire a down-on-his-luck actor (John Cena) to study up & BE Ricky Stanicky… and of course… hijinx ensue. This movie… is pretty preposterous… but man, I really liked it. To be fair, I watched this one by myself & I’m sure Izzy would think it’s… okay… but as long as you can get past the “the protagonists of this movie are all lying a-holes” and that’s got a lot of the (thank goodness implied) gross-out humor from the director of “Dumb & Dumber” then I think you’ll have a fun time as well. Great performances by Cena, William H Macy, even Zac Efron wasn’t that bad… Rating – 8/10 – Worth a watch if you like raunchy comedy July 27 – Under Paris (2024) Brendan from What Were They Thinking? Podcast told me about this movie… well actually he just asked if I had seen it… and he hadn’t, just that it seemed like a movie I would watch… and he was right to think so. Basically a French diving research team is tracking a mako in the Indian Ocean… and it’s growing faster than expected… and then kills the team save for one lone survivor (hot French chick). Three years later, she’s a guide at a Parisian aquarium… but is then notified by basically Greenpeace’s militant division that the shark they were tracking… is in the Seine River in Paris now… possibly to breed… that’s right, it’s Jaws The Revenge, I guess?!? Anyway, hijinx ensue as everyone involved bumblef**ks their way through events that happen & Steve is just screaming at the TV “A Net will do just fine! Or a barrel of oil or something… whatever…” Now… the movie is better than most of those SyFy shark movies like “Jurassic Shark” or “Three-Headed Shark Attack” or even the “Sharknado” sequels… but it’s definitely not on the Jaws sequel or Deep Blue Sea or The Shallows level. Rating – 7/10 – I like shark movies… but this is quite mid July 29 – The Trust (2016) Nicolas Cage & Elijah Wood are cops… well, crime scene investigators… and when the elder stumbles upon a suspicious evidence receipt… it sends him down a path that basically leads to him convinced that they should rob a drug dealer’s vault located in an otherwise inconsequential apartment location in Las Vegas. Does he have any real evidence that there’s a safe there? Not really… more circumstantial… but he has a hunch… and hijinx ensues. Honestly, this movie is kind of a dark comedy… until the third act… intruged? Rating - ???/10 – Well then hear all about it on Everything I Learned from Movies during Nic-August Cage!!! July 31 – Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) Yes, the highly anticipated Marvel movie where we finally get full penetration as Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) are together at last trying to save the universe… and spoilers… cameos ensue!!! Without going deep into it, this movie was a HELL of a lot of fun… if you enjoyed the first two movies (each of which was movie of the year when they came out) then this one is right up the same alley with even zanier stuff happening. That being said… will it be my movie of the year the same year where we’ve already had a Dune movie, a Mad Max Movie, a Planet of the Apes movie, a STUNTS movie & plenty more to come?!? Rating – 10+/10 – Well, it’s already off to a fine start with that ranking!!! Pray for Mojo... and come see us at any of the events in Northern Utah the next two weeks!!! Steve
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Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
That's right! It was officially announced early this morning (Pioneer Day aka Utah Statehood Day) that the 2034 Winter Olympics will be coming to Salt Lake City for the 1st time since 2002!!! It was kinda known for several months now... but it's good that the IOC didn't pull the ultimate joke & deny us on the state's birthday! Oh... and I saw some movies... July 19 – Vicious Lips (1986) In the distant future, a lady rock band is given the opportunity to be on the intergalactic stage… all they have to do is make it across the galaxy in less than a day… and as luck would have it, they’ve crashed on a desert planet… and they stole a ship that has a serial killer in the back… hijinx ensue. Okay, this movie is made by Albert Pyun (“Cyborg” & other questionable movies) and this is an early one that apparently he bailed on after filming and was like “Good luck making it a story!” Izzy loves this movie… for some reason… but what do I think about it? Rating - ???/10 – Find out on the Grindbin Podcast where we talked with Mike & Bobby about it!!! July 21 – Dangerously Close (1986) While researching “Vicious Lips”, we found out that the lead actress had a small part in this movie… about a band of rich kids who are hellbent on cleansing their prep school of the unsightly Nair-do-wells… and then after a few kids end up dead or missing, then the others kinda do something about it… sorta… apparently this was a whole genre of movies in the 80s where the jocks were cleaning out the nerds via gestapo tactics or something… but this one has John Stockwell, Carey Lowell (Bond girl debut) & friend of the podcast Anthony DeLongis as a cop in one scene… oh yeah, and directed by Albert Pyun within a few months of Vicious Lips. Oh how the hijinx ensue… Rating – 8/10 – Look, this movie was kinda dumb & predictable… but I had a good time with it… though I’ve never understood the whole bully thing… maybe I’M the bully? July 23 – Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise (2006) Yup, another Jesse Stone movie where Tom Selleck is an aging alcoholic LA cop who moved to small-town Massachusetts because he’s separated from this wife (don’t worry about it) and as luck would have it bodies start falling like Murder She Wrote & Jesse always has a new hot chick to run through casually while going through his mental problems through a bottle of whiskey. In this one, the body of a teenage girl washes up on shore… while a man also beats his wife unrelated… and the mystery is whether the teenage girl was killed by her WASP father, the rich author that she trusts, or the dozens of teenage boys who raw dog her on a weekly basis. Jesse meanwhile has finally decided to see a psychiatrist… who may or may not be him from 10 years in the future (played by William Devane) and hijinx & hilarity ensues. Oh & he’s nailing the schoolmistress who didn’t realize that the dead girl was actually an honor student at her last school but then immediately had issues once moving to town… but hey, that’s not her job… she’s pretty. Rating – 7/10 – That being said, I still kinda like these movies. Tom Selleck is great… Viola Davis too… The next few weeks are going to be hella busy with Izzy's art shows but... I'll keep you posted when/if I can... until then, HAPPY PIONEER DAY!!! Steve Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
Yup, HOT busy week after HOT BUSIER week... but I was able to squeeze in a few movies... July 13 – Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) Have you ever seen Indecent Proposal? Well… it’s basically this movie but with less intentional comedy & more drama. Nic Cage & Sarah Jessica Parker are a young couple who go to Vegas to get married because… you know contrivance of Nic’s mom’s deathbed warning to never get married and whatever… but when they get there, within a few hours they fall pray to a professional gambler (definitely not the Mafia don) James Caan who’s wife bore a striking resemblance to SJP… and hijinx ensue when Nic needs to pay off a $65,000 debt by offering his wife as company for the weekend. Honestly though, this is more realistic than Indecent Proposal… even with the overflowing of Elvis impersonators of the Elvis impersonators convention in good ol’ 90s Las Vegas… but yeah, it’s a rough movie at times just for the contrivances… Rating – ???/10 – I PAID $15 FOR THIS, so listen to the podcast so that you don’t have to… or maybe you decide to later on… July 15 – Leaving Las Vegas (1995) That’s right… it’s all the Nic Cage Vegas movies coming up… and this one was my LEAST favorite Nic Cage movie for a looooong time (until watching Amos & Andrew). It’s the story of a writer (Nic Cage) whose wife has left him… and he’s going DEEP into an alcoholic depression… and gets fired… so he decides to go to Las Vegas to drink himself to death… but along the way he meets a hooker with a heart of gold (Elizabeth Shue) who, for whatever reason, falls for him… and they just… kind of be miserable near each other for two hours of movie as hijinx ensue. Yes, I know THIS is somehow the movie that Nic Cage won an Academy Award for (AND SHUE WAS F**KING ROBBED!!!). You can say that it’s a deep, introspective look at broken people in horrible lives that they’ve chosen for themselves & the consequences of their actions… sure… but overall, the movie is just so… f**king unbelievable in many ways… and having lived through a few loved ones deal with alcoholism, this movie just ended up infuriating me when I originally watched it about 15 years ago (IN MY 20S!!!). Has it aged well? Rating - ???/10 – Find out on Everything I Learned From Movies in August!!! July 17 – Zandalee (1991) Okay… if you’ve never seen this movie… it’s an erotic thriller set in New Orleans… where Southern gentleman Judge Reinhold has his beautiful wife (straight outta Red Shoe Diaries) but he’s losing his lust for life (and basically impotent) so she hooks up with hubby’s old buddy artist Nicolas Cage, who looks like Johnny Deep with a mullet and hijinx ensue. There’s also cameos from prisoner garbage man Steve Buscemi, Joe Pants in a dress, Marisa Tomei for a cup of coffee & a plot that makes negative sense… intrigued? Rating – 9/10 – This movie is so crazy it makes me want to go back to New Orleans again very soon!!! I'M LIKE A PRICKLY PEAR!!! Have a great day everybody!!! Watch Zandalee... lemme know what you think! Steve Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
Gearing up for the busiest part of the year with regards to art shows... but of course... we find a way for the podcast... as we have appearances to keep!!! July 5 – Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) As you may have heard, I love Ghostbusters. Grew up with the original as one of our few VHS tapes growing up… the second one is great… didn’t particularly care for the 2016 one but I think that’s because of the bad “improv” nature of the comedy… but they won me back with the last one in spades with the Stranger Things / Next Generation angle. My brother went to see this one opening weekend… and he HATED it!!! He told me that it was a bunch of woke BS where instead of busting ghosts 90% of the movie is the teenage girl falling in a lesbian relationship with a ghost and blah blah blah… and I could totally see that being the angle… and I’d still enjoy it. So… we watched it… and I saw the “lesbian relationship” as more of 15-year old teenagers finding a friend while they’re being angsty and… it’s not like anything happened in a sexual manner so… not sure what my brother’s thinking about. There are some definite lulls in the action (and logic for that matter) in the middle of the movie but… you know, movie gotta movie… and they actually bring back Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray & everybody’s favorite Ernie Hudson (can you believe that guy’s almost 80?!?) in small but significant & hilarious roles… plenty of callbacks being back in New York City… and yeah, I really liked it. Rating – 8/10 – I’d probably only rate it above the 2016 one (Answer the Call or whatever?) but still fun… July 7 – Mazes & Monsters (1980) Tom Hanks’ first leading role… too bad it’s a made-for-TV Satanic Panic movie about four college kids who get swept up in the seedy underbelly of role-playing board games that definitely aren’t Dungeons & Dragons… or something like that. Look… the actors are okay for what they’re given. Is even the great Tom Hanks perfect? Of course not… he’s like 19 or something & given a horrible script. Is this movie worth a watch though for some of the ridiculous things that come out of people’s mouths in the early Reagan days?!? Rating – 7/10 – Absolutely! Worth a drunk watch with friends… or we’ll talk about it on the podcast later this month July 9 – Red Sun (1971) This is another Western where Charles Bronson is part of a gang that robs a train, including a ceremonial sword from the emperor of Japan meant for the President… but then the gang double crosses him & blows him up with dynamite. Now the head guard of the Japanese delegation (Toshiro Mifune of “Seven Samurai”, “Yojimbo”, etc) must join forces with him to bring them to justice… and get the sword (and maybe the money) back. It’s your typical odd couple setup… but actually a lot of fun & from the director of the early Bond movies (Terence Young) so he knows how to shoot a shot & bring the story around. Mifune is always amazing… even if he’s in an early version of “Shanghai Knights” sans most of the comedy. Rating – 8/10 – Definitely worth a shot if you’re into Westerns but a lot of cliches July 11 – Muppets Most Wanted (2014) Have you seen Ernest Goes to Jail? Well, have you seen it with Muppets?!? Basically the Muppets go on a world tour with tour manager Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais) and the world’s most dangerous frog escapes from a gulag & switches places with Kermit unbeknownst to anyone else. Guys… it’s a Muppets movie… so you know it’s great… Rating – 9/10 – Always fun… and Tina Fey as the gulag director makes it even better If you're in northern Utah & going to events, you'll probably see us in person... whether it's Ogden Farmers Market, Ogden Pride Festival, Eccles Art Center, Weber County Fair, Craft Lake City DIY Festival in Salt Lake City Fairgrounds, Fiiz Fest in South Jordan, Yart Sale, As Above So Below Witch Fest in Roy... all kinds of crazy stuff!!! See you there!!! Steve & Izzy Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
Well yes, it certainly feels like the end times are upon us... just based on who the "leader of the free world" is gearing up to be (either option) but... alas we soldier on in this stupidest timeline... and watched a few movies... June 29 – The Town (2010) So this movie was recommended for our podcast by an upcoming guest… and I was a little confused. I remembered really liking this Ben Affleck directed bank robbery flick set in the seedy neighborhood of Charlestown in Boston… and on our podcast, we talk about bad movies, right? Oh wait! We also talk about questionable movies… and this is a movie about a bank robbery that goes successfully… until one of the guys starts basically stalking the hostage that they took… and falls in love with her… and continues to do questionable things for a questionable amount of time. Oh yeah, this movie totally fits our podcast! That being said… aside from the obvious amount of “What the f**k are you doing?” throughout the movie… it’s actually pretty well done! Rating – 8/10 – Is it Heat? The Sting? No… more like The Sting II or Den of Thieves or Wrath of Man territory… definitely worth a watch July 1 – Waterworld (1995) I watched this one at a drive-in when it came out… the summer of Batman Forever, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Braveheart, Apollo 13… and of course… CONGO!!! I never really understood the hate for this movie though. Yeah, maybe it lost money because it was the most expensive movie ever made at the time but… it’s basically a Mad Max movie on the water… and that’s my jam!!! In the future, the ice caps have melted… and the entire world is covered in water… yet somehow there’s a surprising number of things from the 90s still around like jet skis & ski boots… and gas that works… but basically there’s a man with fish gills (Kevin Costner) who takes upon a woman & a girl who may have the secret to finding dry land… but Dennis Hopper wants to know too… and he has an army at his disposal somehow. Hijinx ensue. Look… even when it’s the Mad Max Universe & like… fifty years in the future, I’m skeptical about the modern conveniences that people have… but take 50 to 500 years and I’m downright “Whatever, it’s a movie, let it go!” So with that in mind… Rating – 8/10 – I really like it… even with the charisma vacuum that is Kevin Costner July 3 – Hanky Panky (2024) A few weeks ago, the director of this movie (Nick Roth) reached out to me about his movie & wanting to be on the podcast (Everything I Learned From Movies) to promote it… and I was totally down since it was filmed nearby in Heber, Utah & I love talking to people in the movie industry. The movie is on Tubi… and it’s the usual setup of group of people at a cabin in the woods… but one of them is insane & talking to his handkerchief … but is he insane?!? Hijinx ensue… and honestly, it’s a horror comedy on a shoestring budget… but the editing & comedic timing REALLY pulls off what is an otherwise absolutely insane premise where there’s a killer hat voiced by Seth Green! Oh… and another fun thing… in trying to interview the director, we actually got to interview the other director… his wife… Lindsay Haun, probably best known as the lead evil girl from “Village of the Damned” & the Doctor’s child from “Star Trek: Voyager”!!! COMING SOON!!! Rating – 9/10 – This movie was really fun, especially knowing the horror tropes & how they play with them… check it out on Tubi! Happy Independence Day weekend!!! We'll be at the Huntsville 4th of July Parade & Art Festival... and then the weekend will have plenty of fun as well, I'm sure! Hopefully you'll have the same! Steve |
Steve and Izzy
Steve and Izzy are the hosts behind the EILFM podcast, are BJCP beer judges and have terrible to questionable taste in movies. Along with the PodCats Pickles, Cameron and Poe they will justify why these movies are amazing Archives
December 2024
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